Police: Girls planned stabbing at school

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Police in Florida say they stopped two students from carrying out a plot to go on a stabbing spree at Bartow Middle School Tuesday.

Police say a teacher told the principal after hearing about the plan from a student, and the principal notified authorities. The two female students, ages 11 and 12, were apparently found hiding inside a bathroom just before they planned to carry out the attack. 

The girls were found by the assistant principal in a search of the school after one of the students was reported missing from class.

After being brought to the principal's office, officers on campus discovered the girls had armed themselves with several weapons including paring and butcher knives, along with a pizza cutter, and planned to attack other students during the school day.

The girls admitted to being Satan worshipers and told police they were planning on attacking and killing as many students as possible.

Police say the girls were waiting in the bathroom for the opportunity to find smaller kids that they could overpower to be their victims. 

The girls were taken into custody and further investigation of the girls' homes turned up a hand-drawn map of Bartow Middle School with the words, "Go to kill in bathroom," written on it. 

Cell phone messages obtained from the girls' cell phones show they planned the attack for several days. In one message, one of the girls said, "We will leave body parts at the entrance and then we will kill ourselves," police say. 

During an interview with officers, the girls told officers they wanted to kill at least 15 people. 

They are both charged with conspiracy to commit murder and possession of a weapon on school property, among other charges. 

"This is horrific and if I had children in school I'd be scared half to death," Bartow Police Chief Joe Hall. "But remember, a student heard something, the student told a teacher, the teacher immediately reported that, which implemented our safety plan in this school district, which resulted in us apprehending both of these students before a single student was injured. The plan did work," he said.